You Did What?
by smartkid37
Summary: Abby and McGee face the consequences of their actions. Missing Scene/Tag to "Faith"
1. Facing Gibbs

A/N: Missing scene from "Faith"

* * *

"Abby! Conference Room. NOW!" Gibbs barked. "You too, McGee!"

Once they were both seated in the conference room; and squirming. Gibbs entered the room."McGee! wait outside." he barked.

As soon as his agent took a seat outside the room; Gibbs closed the door; making sure it slammed behind him.

"What the hell's wrong with you?" Gibbs barked. "If you need something done that meansbending the rules; you're supposed to come to me!"

"I know, Gibbs!"

"You think the rules don't apply to you? Gibbs was still roaring.

"No. Course not, Gibbs!

Really? You sure have a damn funny way of showin it! Why the hell do you put him in this position over and over again? "

"Because he never says no to me, Gibbs. Well, not without giving in in the end, anyway."

"Yeah, Abby, I know; you take advantage of him. You wanna see him get fired?"

"NO!"

"I repeat; you sure gotta hellova way of showin it!" Gibbs barked.

"Gibbs!"

"Abby; you've left me no choice, this time. Serious lines have been crossed here; serious regs broken . You've asked for consequences" although his fury was diffusing; Gibbs' bark was still not to be trifled with.

"What consequences, Gibbs?" Abby asked with actual fear.

"I'll let you know. Go back to work!" Gibbs ordered. "And this will not happen again!"

"Yes, Gibbs."

As Abby left; Gibbs barked: "McGee; get in here!"

Once his agent had sat down; Gibbs; closed the door hard.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Gibbs roared. "You know better than to pull a stunt like this! You don't lie and make up things to get satellite time because a little boy wants to see his mom for Christmas! I don't give a damn what Abby said to you!

McGee squirmed and didn't even try to apologise; knowing it would just piss Gibbs off worse. He'd known this was coming. Hell, his job was probably down the tubes, too.

"Why the hell do you give in to her manipulations like this? Why don't you tell her to come to me with her rule bending requests?" Gibbs was still roaring; with no sign of calming down.

"Boss...I..."

"You can't even justify it."

"No, Boss. I can't. I am sorry. I know how you feel about them; but, I am sorry. I just get this "backed in a corner suffocating feeling when she asks me for stuff like this; like I'm dirt if I don't deliver." McGee tried to explain; knowing it wasn't even close to good enough.

'McGee! Be dirt!" Gibbs demanded. "This won't happen again!"

"No, Boss. I promise, it won't."

"I know it won't because the next time it does; you won't have a job! Do I need to say any more?" Gibbs demanded.

"No, Boss. I understand." McGee said; now totally miserable. Now, he'd never get Gibbs' trust or respect back.

"Get back to work." GIbbs snapped.

* * *

A/N : Will Abby and McGee's friendship survive this? Will Gibbs and McGee's working relationship survive?


	2. Consequences Handed Out

_A/N : Special Thanks goes out to Peppe1951 for the wonderful suggestions and assistance. Thank you very much!_

* * *

Tim McGee was devastated. He'd broken the trust and lost the respect of the man he admired and respected most in the world. And to make matters worse; he'd been put on notice; left with no question as to just how thin the ice was that he was standing on with his job. And to add insult to injury; it had happened because he'd allowed himself; again, to be sweet talked into breaking rules to give Abby something she wanted done. She'd gone on and on about it; claiming it was for the little boy, and all about Christmas and why didn't he ever learn? Why is it he was afraid to say no to her; even if he knew he was risking his job or Gibbs' rath?

_"Not entirely sure why I'm not firing you already"_ Gibbs had told him in fury. "No contact with Abby in or outta work, for one month. AND six months probationary status! Step outta line just once..." the man hadn't even finished the thought.

There had been no need. Gibbs knew Tim would already be punishing himself; starting with the blanket of guilt the young man had obviously already picked up and settled firmly on his shoulders. He knew how much McGee valued his trust. The young man may have been trying to do a good deed; but he'd gone about it in the worst way possible. It wasn't a misjudgement Gibbs wanted to see him make again.

Unbeknown to McGee; Gibbs had actually contemplated letting it become a genuine reprimand in his record along with a couple of days suspension instead; contemplated it for all of about 30 seconds. He had no intention seeing him fired over this. Gibbs wasn't about to lose a damn good agent; just because the agent in question couldn't stand up to his Forensic Scientist's manipulations.

He knew that McGee being faced with the reality of losing his job would be more than enough incentive to keep him on the straight and narrow. Out of concern that he would take the most punishing road; if given a choice of whose punishment to accept; Gibbs hadn't offered his agent that choice. On top of that he'd maintained the aire of intense anger to sharpen the effect when the truth of the matter was; he was actually more angry with Abby than McGee.

While Tim should have and certainly could have told her no; she was the one who repeatedly manipulated him like this; knowing full well; he'd feel trapped by his need to not make her mad. They all knew she played them like a fiddle; always keeping them jumping to her bidding; with the risk of facing his own rath if they didn't cooperate with her. _Oh, Damn it! Ducky was right!_

_"A great deal of the blame rests on your shoulders, Jethro." he'd said. "You allow Abigail to get away with far too much. You've put her on a pedastal. The rest of your team is afraid to say no to her because of it; most especailly Timothy; whom you have shown a great deal less patience and trust in; than Anthony. Timothy is well aware that you do not think of him as an equal to the other two. He does not wish to compound the problem with the consequences of Abigail's rath bringing your own anger down on his head for any reason._

This probationary status wasn't even going in his record. Gibbs knew that Tim didn't know that. It would have been simple enough to do that and leave it at that. But, in the end; Gibbs was not willing to blemish Tim's record like that unless it was absolutely necessary. Judging by the look on his agent's face as he'd left the conference room earlier; it wasn't even close to necessary. He had issued the "No Abby" ruling for the kid's own good. Likewise, he'd issued the "No McGee" ruling to Abby for McGee's own good.

"Whatsa matter, Probie, you lose your spine, again?" Tony taunted with disgust. The Senior Field Agent was pissed about the situation; all the way around it. "If you ask me, Probie; you ass should'a been suspended!"

Gibbs was jarred from his thoughts and he stopped in his tracks; as he was coming just around the corner behind Tim's desk as he heard Tony's words.

"I know, Tony." McGee's quiet agreement raised a red flag with Tony. He dropped it with a muttered; "jellyfish" and sat back down at his desk, putting his nose, once again into case work. He'd already lit into Abby about it earlier:

_"Abby, what the hell's wrong with you, always trippin' McGee up; gettin' him to do crazy stuff for you? You should know by now that if you can't bring yourself to ask Gibbs for whatever it is you want done; you have no business asking McGee to do it for you!"_ Tony had exclaimed, muttering, _"backbone stealer."_

_Abby had stood there silently, tears running down her face. It had taken her a good 30 seconds before she answered Tony.  
" I know, Tony._

_"I'm really disaappointed in you, Abby. It's like you don't care who pays the consequences as long as you get what you want. How are you gonna feel if this gets him fired, huh?"_

_Abby hung her head and cried. "All I was tryin to do is help a little boy get his wish for Christmas."_

_"All you had to do is go through the proper channels, Abby! McGee is not a proper channel. He's your personal doormat. You need to quit using him like that!"_

Tony had angrily stalked out; leaving her in tears. But, she was a big girl and she had started this mess. If Probie got fired over it, Tony was gonna be livid; with both of them.

Ziva silently watched both men before she too got busy once again with case work. She knew no one needed any more fuel added to the fires that were raging right now.

Tim dejectedly slumped in his chair as he buried himself in the casework on his desk.

Gibbs returned to the squad room and silently sat down at his desk. Not one of his agents looked up from their work. His mind wouldn't stay on the case in front of him; it kept wandering off to his conversation he'd had with Abby an hour ago, down in her lab.

"_Abby." Gibbs had come in silently and spoken just as quietly._

_"Gibbs." Abby answered in the same tone._

_"I've decided."_

_"Okay. What have you decided?"_

_"First, You have to decide. My way; off the record or the Director's official way?" Gibbs asked._

_"I'll accept your way." Abby had promised._

_"Final Answer?"_

_"Yes, Final answer."_

_"Okay. One: one month with no contact with McGee."_

_"GIBBS!!" Abby hollored; shocked to her toes. She hadn't seen that one coming._

_"That includes away from work, too." Gibbs firmly stated._

"Wow. You're not playin. Well, I mean; I know you don't play, but this is 'not playin'" Abby stammered.

"I'm not finished." Gibbs warned.

"There's more?" Abby moaned.

"Two; No music for two weeks."

"GIBBS!!!"

"UNLESS"

"unless what?"

"Unless you want just one week of silence.

"Of course, I'll take the less silent route."

"Week 2 has to be what I listen to." the boss explained.

"But. But. But, you said you only listen to 5 songs, Gibbs! And we don't even have close to the same taste in music!"

"It's your choice, Abby. I"m sure the Director will accomodate you if you feel the need to go with his punishment instead." Gibbs told her with a daring glare.

"Okay. I accept. What 5 songs do I get to listen to for two weeks?" Abby asked painfully.

"I'll let you know after you get through your week with no music." Gibbs told her.

"Gibbs!" Abby moaned.

"Abby?" Gibbs said in that voice of his that made it a non-argument.

Justice had been doled out. There was nothing left to be said.

* * *

A/N: WHAT FIVE SONGS DO YOU THINK GIBBS LISTENS TO? INPUT NEEDED HERE, PLEASE!.


	3. Unforseen Consequences

The only difference between the newbie Probie from 6 years ago and the Probie here and now; was the lack of stuttering and stammering. The rest of the picture was identical; shy; quiet; unsure; withdrawn. And the sad part about was; the change had happened almost instantly. As soon as Gibbs had sent Tim back to work; with his boss' angry words and threats of unemployment ringing in his ears; the changes had been noticed. As the day had worn on; no one had missed the difference in McGee.

Ducky had pounced on Gibbs about it, too.

"Jethro! What on earth have you done to that young man?"

"What I needed to, Duck."

"Oh, Jethro, if you can't see that you've done a lot more than that; then I'm afraid you're in for a rude awakening." Ducky sadly warned the younger man.

"Whattaya talkin bout, Ducky" Gibbs demanded.

"Open your eyes, Jethro!" Ducky challanged him.

It was late by the time Gibbs returned to the squad room angry and more than ready to go home. He dismissed his team for the weekend. As they packed up their workstations, Gibbs watched Tim; looking for what Ducky seemed to be so pissed about. Yeah, the young man was definately not his normal self. But, then again, after getting chewed out the way he'd gotten, who would be? Making a mental note to check on McGee when he returned to work on Monday, Gibbs left the squad room and headed to the break room for more coffee.

After a restless weekend, bothered by Ducky's unusal anger on Friday and little warning signs he'd seen on Tim, Gibbs was early to work on Monday. As he watched from the Mezanine level, his team came in individually. He wasn't surprised to find McGee was the first one in. He was surprised at how exhausted and beat down the young man looked. Abandoning his post, Gibbs quickly descended the stairs, anxious to look Tim over more closely. As he drew up alongside his agent's desk, Gibbs was startled to see up close just how bad Tim looked.

The arrival of Tony and Ziva temporarily distracted Gibbs from his concern about Tim. With the cold cases being the order of the day, things quickly settled into the normal bantering and exchanging of ideas about the cases currently being re-examined by the team. Tim, however, remained deathly quiet. His keyboard wasn't even being used. Such a rare occassion was cause for concern.

As one by one, Gibbs' team looked over at Tim, they all eventually became concerned. Tim was quite obviously exhausted and looked to have dropped a good 10 pounds quicker than he was talking. Considering he was as silent as the day was long, this was not a good comparison. Tony was actually alarmed while Ziva was concerned. As Gibbs was getting ready to order McGee down to Ducky, the M.E. made his own appearance in the squad room, needing to talk to Jethro about a case. As soon as he walked in, he noticed all eyes were turned onto Timothy. Looking at the young man a second time, Ducky froze in his tracks. Gibbs stepped up behind Ducky.

"Take him down with you, Duck. Check him over for me. Let me know what you find out. And see if you can get him to talk to you." Gibbs quietly requested in the M.E.'s ear.

"Certainly, Jethro." Ducky answered just as quietly. Stepping over to Timothy's desk, Ducky spoke to the young man as quietly as Gibbs had just spoken to him.

"Timothy, I want you to come down to Autopsy with me. You do not look well and I want to check you over and make sure you should even be working. I need to be certain that there's not something seriously wrong with you."

Tim looked up at Ducky with fear. He didn't need this on top of already being on Gibbs' "List". Maybe he should just take some sick leave to play it safe. At least he wouldn't be making a really bad situation worse. He needed to do this before he got himself fired. Carefully putting all of his emotions away, Tim stood up and silently nodded at Ducky's direction and followed him to the back elevator without even looking at the others.

As soon as the elevator doors closed and the car began to descend, Tim let go of the breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding in. Ducky watched silently with concern as Tim's stress level seemed to fall away from him instantly. When the elevator stopped on Abby's level, Ducky watched as Timothy immediately tensed up so severely, Ducky could almost reach out and touch his distress. When the doors opened, Abby carefully searched the faces of the occupants. Her eyes grew large with alarm as she took in the state that Tim was in. Noticing Ducky's silent perusal of the agent, Abby put the pieces together and realized Ducky was escorting Tim down to Autopsy so he could check him over. The agent looked horrible. Stepping off the elevator, Abby quietly told Ducky she'd take the stairs.

No sooner did the elevator doors close again, than Timothy once again shed his distress instantly. This alarmed Ducky. As he began to put the pieces together, he did not like what he was seeing as the end result. Silently, the M.E. ushered the young man into the Autopsy room and over to a table. As Tim settled onto a table, Ducky silently motioned for Jimmy to leave them alone. As soon as Jimmy was gone, Ducky began his questions.

"Timothy, your health has deteriorated drastically since Friday. I need to know what has happened if I'm to help you."

Tim didn't even put up a fight. "I haven't been able to sleep, Ducky. Can't even keep any food down. I feel like I've been run over by a truck." he admitted with very little energy.

"Timothy, when did you first begin to feel ill?"

Tim refused to answer that question. He was too ashamed of the answer. He'd been on Gibbs' team for 6 years now and the fact that Gibbs' being pissed at him and losing faith and trust in him still made him physicallysick to his stomach; was embarrassing to say the least. He didn't want anyone finding that out. It had never gotten this bad before. His thoughts were interrupted by Ducky's order:

"Timothy, I'm taking you to the hospital. You need to be further examined by a team of Doctors to rule out anything serious. Your vital signs are not normal."

"Great, now I can really _kiss _my job goodbye." Tim muttered quietly.

Ducky raised his eyebrows at Timothy's comment, but kept silent on the matter. "Timothy, why don't you put your shirt back on while I call Jethro and update him on what I've decided you need."

Tim silently nodded, feeling the walls of his life closing in on him more every minute. In a few short minutes, Ducky was back and ushering Tim out the door, as they left to go to the hospital.

Gibbs set his phone down slowly, and immediately headed upstairs to inform Leon of Ducky's diagnosis, his mind tripping over Ducky's words, spoken in anger mixed with grave concern:

"Jethro, I'm taking him to the hospital right away. He needs to be checked over by a team of doctors to make sure nothing is seriously wrong. But, I suspect there is a problem. His vital signs are weak and combine that with his drastic weight loss is reason enough to be concerned. He's also admitted he hasn't been able to sleep a wink or even keep a drop of food down. But he wouldn't tell me when he first began to feel sick to his stomach."

"How is he right now Duck?"

"You should know Jethro, when I informed him I was taking him to be admitted to the hospital, he became quiet upset."

"Ducky, none of my people like to be put in the hospital." Gibbs quietly reminded him.

"Jethro, I'm afraid, Timothy's distress was much more serious that your typical dislike of hospitals." Ducky pushed

"Ducky, just tell me!" Gibbs had lost his patience, his concern rising rapidly.

"In his exact words, Jethro? _Great, now I can **really** kiss my job goodbye_."

Ducky had gone on to relay Tim's reactions on the elevator and his current medical state; _quiet as a church mouse and very lethargic._

The more Ducky's words replayed themselves in Gibbs' head, the more Gibbs was able to painfully put the pieces of the puzzle together. The resulting picture was far from pretty.

Even Abby had come up to the squad room upset at the state she'd seen Tim in. By the time Gibbs reached Leon's office, he'd figured out the problem.

Tim was so upset over the mess with Abby and the big deal Gibbs had made about it; he'd made himself physically sick over it!


	4. Not Alone

Gibbs made his update to Leon as quickly as possible before he hustled back down to the squad room. Once there, he informed the others of Tim's status and added that he would be at the hospital until futher notice since there was no active case. Tony was directed to man the fort. As Ziva, Abby and Tony watched in both deep concern and shock, Gibbs all but ran from the squad room."

Once he reached the hospital, he tore through the hallways until he located Ducky who happened to be talking to another Doctor. As he saw Gibbs almost skid to a stop a mere yard away from him, Ducky broke off his conversation to draw the Doctor in Gibbs' direction. "Jethro, this is Dr. Grey. He is Timothy's treating physician." Ducky made the introductions and Dr. Grey dove right into Tim's condition. "Agent Gibbs, your agent is suffering from the Swine flu. He'll need to be kept in isolation for the next 24 hours and all who came in contact with him will need to be tested immediately."

"How is he?" Gibbs asked.

"Jethro, he's resting as comfortably as he can at the moment and he's on a nutritonal i.v. as well as antibiotics. He's as well as he can be at the moment." Ducky informed him.

"I need to see him." Gibbs pushed.

"Agent Gibbs, he's in isolation for his own protection as well as everyone else's." Dr. Grey insisted."It will be at least this time tomorrow before he'll be allowed visitors."

"That's unacceptable, Doctor. Unless you can guarantee me that he won't be awake and alone in that 24 hours." Gibbs declared.

"No, Agent Gibbs, he's not in a coma, medically induced or any other type. I really must insist you allow us to take these precautionary measures." Dr. Grey insisted.

"Dr. Grey, I appreciate your caution. My agent is alone. His family lives at least three hours away from here and his sister is a college student. Right now, I'm all he's got becuase I won't risk my other team members, but I won't leave him alone either." Gibbs pushed. "You can suit me up any way you want, but I'm going to sit with my agent and I won't be leaving him alone."

"Jethro, I really must advise against this. You have the rest of your team to think about. And Timothy would not want you to put yourself at risk like this for him."

"Ducky, he's always thought he didn't matter to me. Weren't you just on my case about this Friday? He needs to know that he's important!" Gibbs insisted.

"Jethro, this is not what I meant and you know it!"

"Ducky? Call his parents for me. Bring them up to speed, will you? And keep an eye on the others for me." Gibbs turned and headed toward Tim's room.

As Ducky conceded defeat, he dug out his cell phone and made the call he needed to make to Leon and Tim's parents. With their promise to be on the next flight out, Ducky then turned his attention to Gibbs' team still in the office. "Anthony, Jethro will be staying with Timothy for the next 24 hours."

"Ducky, what's wrong with him?" Tony asked in blatent concern. He'd put his phone on speaker when he'd seen it was Ducky calling. As Abby and Ziva clustered around Tony's desk, they all waited with bated breath for Ducky to answer the question.

"Swine Flu All of you need to get tested immediately. And then you need to go home and catch up on your sleep. Sleep depravation is especially unsafe with this running around out there among us." Ducky warned.

"Ducky, what about Tim's family?" Abby asked.

"I"ve contacted his parents. They're coming in tomorrow."

"And Sara?" Tony asked.

"It's best to wait for the 24-hour quarentine to be over before alerting her. She would just do what Jethro has done and insist on going in his room."

"Ducky, she needs to be told. She'll be extremely pissed if she's the last to know. And I wouldn't blame her." Tony insisted.

"Yes, I suppose you're right. Anthony. Why don't you pick her up and bring her with you when you come to get tested?" the M.E. suggested.

"Yeah. I'll do that. We'll see you in a bit, Ducky." Tony signed off and ended the call.

Within the hour, Tony, Sara, Ziva, Abby and Jimmy were all at the hospital getting tested for the flu and looking at their sick teammate through the window in his hospital room. Seeing Gibbs in there, covered in protective gear. brought it home to them, how serious this could be. As they stood there in shock, seeing Tim hooked up to hoses and wires, Abby decided she needed more. Soon she was carrying on an ASL conversation with Gibbs through the window. After a long few minutes, Abby smiled and turned to the rest of them.

"Gibbs says Tim's sleeping peacefully. He hasn't woken up since Gibbs went in there over two hours ago. But we know he hasn't slept all weekend cause that's what he told Ducky. So this long sleep is good for him, right?"

"Yes, Abby, it's just what he needs right now." Ducky reassured her and the rest of them.

"Gibbs said to tell you all that he'll be pissed if we don't do whatever Ducky tells us. He's worried about us getting sick, too, I think." Abby shared.

"Abby, ask Gibbs to promise that he'll tell Probie we were here for him. Then we'll go. We'll come back tomorow night when he should be allowed visitors." Tony asked.

A few minutes later, Abby told them the mission was accomplished and they all left to go home and get the required sleep.

Gibbs continued to sit at Tim's bedside. As he looked at his sick agent, he couldn't help but think back over the years Tim had given to his team. From green probie to mature slimmed down serious man who still thought the world of his boss, Tim remained the reliable, responsible, honest, character that Gibbs was proud to have on his team. Seeing him here like this, sick, brought vivid memories of Tony's near death from the plague back to his mind. He was no more prepared to lose one of his boys now than he had been then.

Tim began to grow restless, rousing Gibbs from his thoughts and memories. As his agent shifted and began to become agitated, Gibbs put a calming hand on his shoulder and quietly spoke to him.

"Ssh. Tim. It's okay. Go back to sleep."

Instead of listening to the direction being given in his ear, Tim McGee's eyes popped ope, panic-stricken.


	5. Digging For The Truth

_A/N: I know I took this one outside the box for both Gibbs and Tim. But I'm a firm believer in times of stress and the people you care about being in trouble changing the way you handle things._

_Hope you like it._

_

* * *

_

_"Ssh. Tim. It's okay. Go back to sleep."  
__Instead of listening to the direction being given in his ear, Tim McGee's eyes popped open, panic-stricken._

* * *

Gibbs stepped back so Tim could clearly see him. He forgot that he was completely covered in protective gear. "Tim. Relax. It's me, Gibbs."

"Boss?" Tim's voice was barely audible.

"Yeah, Tim. It's me. I'm here. Not going anywhere."

"Where am I?" Tim asked in fear.

"You're in the hospital. Ducky brought you in. Remember?"

"Sort of. What's wrong with me, Boss?" the young man's fear still hanging on.

"Swine Flu."

"Boss, I don't want to be responsible for something happening to you." Tim said quietly, instantly getting visably upset at the very idea.

"Relax, Tim. Don't worry about that. I didn't want you stuck by yourself for the next 24 hours." Gibbs reasoned.

"Boss!"

"Ssh. Relax. Go back to sleep. It's the best thing for you right now." Gibbs encouraged.

"Can't be responsible for losing you, too." Tim mumbled as sleep claimed him once again.

Gibbs looked at him with concern. He really needed to do something to get some of this guilt and responsibility off this kid.

The next several hours were full of Tim's anxiety coming through in his tossing and turning. As each new bout would come about, Gibbs would soothe him back to a deeper sleep where his worries didn't bother him. Suddenly, Tim was struggling to breathe as his anxiety had turned into full blown panic even in his dreams.

Gibbs quickly hit the call button for the nurse and went about trying to calm Tim and coax him from the depths of his panic. As the nurses came and assisted Gibbs in getting Tim calmed down and breathhing normally again, the patient sank back into an exhausted doze. Gibbs could tell he wasn't able to find the actual peaceful sleep he needed.

"Can't you give him something that will give him real sleep?" Gibbs asked the nurse as she was leaving.

"Not yet. Afer he passes the first 24-hour mark, we'll be able to do more for him." She told him.

Gibbs nodded. He knew what he needed to do. Gently waking Tim back up, he sat on the bed with a supportive hand on his shoulder.

"Boss?" Tim asked in concern and exhaustion.

"I need you to tell me what's on your mind. You're not sleeping like you need to be. So, it's bothering you. Get it out." Gibbs quietly directed him.

"It's not important." Tim whispered as he determinedly kept his eyes averted.

"McGee, it is important or you wouldn't be panicking in your sleep! Something's bothering you badly enough that it's keeping you from recovering from this flu. Is that what you want? Your parents will be here tomorrow. Is this what you want them to see when they get here?"

"My parents? Why?" Tim cried.

"Because they had a right to know." Gibbs told him honestly."Now, exactly what do you want them to see when they get here? You recovering well or you fighting so hard to keep your worries locked up that you can't even sleep?"

Tim looked at Gibbs for a long minute.

"I'll make this easy for you. This is about what happened in MTAC with Abby and the way I blew it out of proportion, isn't it?" Gibbs asked him point blank.

"Indirectly." Tim admitted quietly.

"Why don't you connect the dots for me?" Gibbs quiet request was disconcerting.

"I've tried so hard to be the agent you thought you were getting when you promoted me to your team. After everything this team has been through, I still see the disappointment in your eyes when I screw up. I still hear it in your voice when you talk about how Tony's the one who has your back or who you trust out there. So, when I screw up as bad as I did with this and you're as pissed at me as you were, it literally makes me sick to my stomach." Tim admitted with humiliation.

"Has it always affected you like this?"

"This? No. this is the worst it's ever been. I guess I just happened to wind up with a double whamie this time." Tim quietly explained. He was grateful that Gibbs wasn't drawing specific attention to the part of his confession that was humiliating for him.

"Now that you've told me. Do you think you can sleep?"

"Probably not." Tim admitted.

"What's the real problem here?" Gibbs asked with his usual insightfulness.

Looking Gibbs directly in the eye, Tim went for the brass ring. "Seeing your disappointment in me and your loss of fatih and trust in me."

"When did you decide you had lost that?" Gibbs asked with confusion.

"Friday."

The final puzzle pieces were in place and it was time for Gibbs to correct the problem.

"This is why you can't sleep? This is what's causing you to panic?"

"I think so. My dreams are kinda fuzzy so I'm not sure." Tim said.

"Tim, you need to listen to me. I know when I blow up at you the way I did; that it feels like you've somehow lost my trust or I've suddenly stopped having faith in you as an agent. But, you need to stop making these assumptions. All you're doing is causing yourself problems you don't need."

"Can't exactly help it, Boss." Tim said wearily as exhaustion began to claim him once again.

"I know, Tim. But you're worrying about things that you don't need to be worried about. Your job is safe and I blew everything out of proportion on Friday. I'm sorry."

"So...you and me...we're...okay?" Tim mumbled as his eyes began closing against his will.  
"Yeah, Tim. You and me are okay." Gibbs promised him.

"Thanks, Boss." Tim whispered as sleep claimed him.

This time when Tim slept, it was peaceful and long, with no worries finding him while he slumbered.


	6. Figuring Things Out

The difference in Tim from before he talked things out with Gibbs and after he finally woke from his resulting lengthy restful sleep, was remarkable. There was no doubt in Gibbs' mind that a lot of Tim's problem had been the crap he was carrying around in his head. After all, the kid was a thinker and everything needed to be explained away and ironed out in order for him to be able to accept it.

Tim slept through most of the day and managed to sleep through the night without any problems. As his agent slept and worked at his recovery, Gibbs dozed in the chair with every one of his sense on the alert for sights or sounds of trouble in Tim's breathing and sleeping. Thankfully, by the time the Dr. came in the following morning, Tim was much improved and able to hold his own without exhaustion claiming him.

After they removed his i.v. and announced his visitor ban was lifted early, with his improved health, they also informed him he could go home the following day if he continued to show improvement. The doctor was adamant that he stay with someone when he was released or they would keep him for at least two more days.

That restriction from the doctor took what little spark had just been in Tim's eyes, out in an instant. As he laid his head back on his pillow, he allowed his eyes to close and forced his mind to stop thinking about it. He didn't want to set his own recovery back by stressing out. Realizing he was ignoring his boss who'd stayed by his side for the last 24-hours, Tim opened his eyes and turned to look at Gibbs, only to find him already looking at him with concern.

"Stop worrying about it." Gibbs instructed him.

"Boss?"

"You can stay with me."

"Boss, no...I can't..." Tim tried to object

"Why not? It's close to work so if you have any setbacks, one of us can get to you quickly. You can even come in for a couple hours easier from my place than yours, once the dr. clears you. It'll be easier for the whole team to keep an eye on you."

Tim looked down at his lap in silence.

"McGee, look at me." Gibbs told him.

Tim did as Gibbs instructed and looked back at him.

"Don't even think it." the boss instructed.

Tim's silent question was written all over his face.

"You know I read most people well, and right now, you're easy to read. You're thinking of objecting to staying with me because you've convinced yourself I don't really want you there. You think I'm only doing it because it'll make it easier on everyone else." Gibbs informed him.

The fact that Gibbs had hit the nail on the head was easily seen on Tim's face.

"You should know me well enough by now to know that I wouldn't have suggested it if I didn't want do to it." Gibbs reminded him.

Tim's continued silence spoke of him still connecting it back to Gibbs' offer only being for the good of the job and not because his boss genuinely wanted him there.

"McGee, what else do you want me to say?" Gibbs was frustrated. He knew Tim wasn't feeling welcomed by the invitation, but merely being placed there for convience sake.

"It's all right, Boss. I'll stay with you. Thank you for the invite." Tim said quietly while looking down at his hands. Somehow, he wasn't finding the strength to stand by his deeply ingrained manners at this moment, a fact that did not escape Gibbs' attention.

"I'm ready to listen when you need to talk. You hear me?" Gibbs asked quietly.

"Yes. I'll remember, Boss. Thank you." Tim said quietly as he slid down in his bed and got himself comfortable to go back to sleep. He was too keyed up with Gibbs' keeping him company to allow himself to actually fall asleep. He'd not yet given Gibbs any gratitude for staying with him in the last 24-hours. What the hell was wrong with him? Gibbs deserved better than that!

"Boss?"

"Yeah, Tim?"

"I'm sorry."

"Tim!"

"I'm sorry; I haven't thanked you yet, for staying with me." Tim persisted.

"You're welcome. Get some rest." Gibbs accepted and calmly turned the attention back on Tim's ticket out of that bed.

"Okay." Tim tried to get comfortable enough to sleep, but it wasn't until he checked on Gibbs and thought he'd fallen asleep himself, that Tim rolled over, away from his boss, and really put his heart into trying to go to sleep. The trouble was he just couldn't get there.

Gibbs had closed his eyes, true enough, but hadn't gone to sleep, but rather, was trying to give Tim enough space to feel less under a microscope. As he watched from under his eyelids as the young man turned over and tried to settle in for some rest, he noticed that no matter how hard he was trying; Tim wasn't able to get the sleep he was after. The kid was too tense, too worked up about something.

Figuring that it was Tim still not feeling actually wanted at Gibbs' place, the boss man let it go and slipped out for some fresh coffee, just down the hall. Maybe a couple of minutes alone would do his agent some good.

Heading down the hallway toward a fresh cup of coffee, Gibbs ran into Ducky, who was coming to see Timothy for himself, now that he was off the isolation list.

"Jethro! How is Timothy?"

"Okay, Duck. He can go home tomorrow if everything goes right."

"That's wonderful!"

"Yeah, he has to stay with someone or they're gonna keep him two more days."

"Well, surely, that's not a problem? The entire team would love to be able to help him."

"Yeah, Duck. I know that. He doesn't, or doesn't believe it, I should say."

"Did he say that?"

"No, but I told him he should stay with me for several reasons and he's not happy about it."

"Jethro, Timothy is still a bundle of nerves around you; he tries so hard to please you, and he's hardly able to be himself." Ducky reminded him,

"Yeah, Duck, I know. Even after all these years, it's like he can never get enough approval from me. I hate that he puts himself through that."

"Jethro, if you gave it more, he'd worry about it less." Ducky reasoned.

"Not my style, Ducky. I can't change who I am." Gibbs stated.

"You can change some things about you. You already have." Ducky persisted. "Who's with him now?"

"No one. I just left his room, needed more coffee." Gibbs answered.

"I'll go sit with him, Jethro. You go home and get some sleep." Ducky said.

"Thanks Duck. Maybe you can get him to open up." Gibbs gladly took the out Ducky was giving him. He didn't want to keep McGee stressed out and it was obvious that the kid was stressed around him. "Just do me a favor and tell him to remember what I said to him last night before he went to sleep, will ya, Duck?"

"Absolutely, Jethro. Go on; get some rest and something to eat. The others will be here later. He won't be alone."

"Good. I'll be back later tonight." Gibbs promised.

"I'll tell him." The M.E. replied.

As the men parted ways, Ducky headed back to Timothy's room and quickly read through the young man's medical chart at the end of his bed. As he was reading, he glanced at the agent asleep in the bed, grateful to have caught his illness before it had become worse and happy to see he was getting some rest.

As Ducky walked in, Tim tensed up. The boss was back and probably wanted to talk. Tim wasn't ready to talk to him. He didn't know how to talk to Gibbs. Gibbs was too hard to talk to. Sleep just wouldn't come and he was getting extremely frustrated. Soon he was more ready to face the boss than he was ready to face more frustration with his failed endeavor.

Rolling back over he was shocked to see not Gibbs, but Ducky at the foot of his bed. Instantly, he felt his whole body relax, the tension just faded away and he closed his eyes and found the long elusive sleep he'd needed.

Ducky, surprised that Timothy hadn't been sleeping, watched as the young man turned in the bed, and instantly visibly relaxed and fell asleep as he laid eyes on Ducky.

* * *

Two hours later found Tim waking up and instantly searching for the face that came with the presence he felt in the room. Seeing Ducky sitting in the chair, Tim smiled and sat up.

"Hey, Ducky. Thanks for sitting with me." Tim said quietly.

Ducky looked up at the young man and smiled. "Timothy, you're awake! How do you feel?"

"Okay. Did Gibbs leave?"

"Yes, I sent him home to get some sleep and something to eat. He said to tell you he'd be back later tonight after your teammates have come to visit, which they will do later on this afternoon."

"Great." Tim said with genuine pleasure.

"Timothy,"

"Ducky?"

"Jethro asked me to relay another message to you."

"Oh?" Tim's voice was edged with worry.

"He asked that you not forget what he said to you last night." Ducky relayed.

Tim laid his head back and thought back to the events of last night; the restless sleep, the worry that invaded his dreams, and the conversation with Gibbs:

* * *

_"I need you to tell me what's on your mind. You're not sleeping like you need to be. So, it's bothering you. Get it out"._

_"It's not important." _

_"McGee, it is important or you wouldn't be panicking in your sleep! Something's bothering you badly enough that it's keeping you from recovering from this flu. Is that what you want? Your parents will be here tomorrow. Is this what you want them to see when they get here?"_

_"My parents? Why?" _

_"Because they had a right to know Now, exactly what do you want them to see when they get here? You recovering well or you fighting so hard to keep your worries locked up that you can't even sleep?"_

_'I'll make this easy for you. This is about what happened in MTAC with Abby and the way I blew it out of proportion, isn't it?"_

_"Indirectly." _

_"Why don't you connect the dots for me?"_

_"I've tried so hard to be the agent you thought you were getting when you promoted me to your team. After everything this team has been through, I still see the disappointment in your eyes when I screw up. I still hear it in your voice when you talk about how Tony's the one who has your back or who you trust out there. So, when I screw up as bad as I did with this and you're as pissed at me as you were, it literally makes me sick to my stomach."_

_"Has it always affected you like this?"_

_"This? No. this is the worst it's ever been. I guess I just happened to wind up with a double whammy this time." _

_"Now that you've told me. Do you think you can sleep?"_

_"Probably not." _

_"What's the real problem here?" _

_"Seeing your disappointment in me and your loss of faith and trust in me."_

_"When did you decide you had lost that?" _

_"Friday."_

_"This is why you can't sleep? This is what's causing you to panic?"_

_"I think so. My dreams are kinda fuzzy so I'm not sure." _

_"Tim, you need to listen to me. I know when I blow up at you the way I did; that it feels like you've somehow lost my trust or I've suddenly stopped having faith in you as an agent. But, you need to stop making these assumptions. All you're doing is causing yourself problems you don't need."_

_"Can't exactly help it, Boss." _

_"I know, Tim. But you're worrying about things that you don't need to be worried about. Your job is safe and I blew everything out of proportion on Friday. I'm sorry."_

_"So...you and me...we're...okay?"  
"Yeah, Tim. You and me are okay." _

_"Thanks, Boss." _

* * *

Ducky watched as Tim sat lost in his recollection of whatever he and his boss had discussed the previous evening. What ever it had been brought a smile back to the young man's face, for a moment. It wasn't long, however, before that smile was replaced with worry. Soon, the young man brought himself back to the present with a smile of apology.

"Sorry, Ducky."

"That's quite all right, Timothy. Apparently, you needed to think about things for a time. If you wish to talk to someone, I'm a very good listener, as you well know." Ducky offered.

"I know, Ducky. And you're right. I do need to talk about it. And you're the best candidate for the job. Since the team won't be here till later, is now, okay?" Tim asked carefully.

"Certainly." Ducky pulled his chair up to the bed and sat back and listened as Tim talked things out with him. He didn't pull any punches; he got it all out, now that he had this golden opportunity to do so. When he'd depleted his bank of things that had been plaguing him, Tim looked at Ducky with a twinge of guilt.

"I'm sorry, Ducky. I've been unloading on you for over an hour."

"That's quite all right, young man. You needed to get it out and I was happy to listen. I do need to ask if you require this to be confidential or if I may speak of this to Jethro?"

"If he cares enough to ask, I don't mind if you let him in on it. God knows, I'll never be able to say it to him. I'd rather shoot myself in the foot." Tim said dryly.

"Timothy, you don't give him enough credit for being concerned." Ducky admonished.

"Yes, I do, Ducky; just not when it comes to me. There's no doubt in my mind that he cares about the rest of the team.

"Timothy, even with everything you've just told me, I can see that you obviously are concerned about Jethro being inconvenienced by taking you in for the few days the doctors are insisting you not be alone. Why is that? Didn't he explain to you that he wants you to stay with him?" Ducky asked, trying to turn the subject a little.

"He did. But he also gave me a list of reasons why it's better for everyone if I stay with him anyway. It's the same thing. It's not personal. But, that's okay, Ducky. I'll handle it. I'll just make sure I stay out of his way while I'm there and it'll all work out. Like you said, it's only for a couple of days, anyway." Tim explained.

"Oh, Timothy!"

"It's okay, Ducky. Really. Why don't you tell me one of your stories from back in your early days with Gibbs and Director Shepard? I would love to hear some." Tim encouraged.

"Are you certain?" Ducky asked. After all, these young people hardly ever wanted to hear one of his stories.

"Please?" Tim asked.

"All right, then." Ducky conceded. As he proceeded to relate some tales from long ago, Tim sat back and enjoyed the stories. Before they knew it, it was dinner time and the team had arrived for their visit. All talk of a personal nature was tabled.

* * *

Eleven O'clock that night found Tim exhausted, happier than he'd been in a while, yet scared and tense at the same time. His teammates had stayed until they were physically booted out, well after visiting hours were over. Their chatter and jovial greetings and jokes were a welcome relief. The belief that they didn't care about him weighed less than it had before they arrived, but there was still work to be done to totally alleviate it that feeling. After all, this was when they rose to the occasion, every time. The only time they did.

Still, it helped calm his nerves and his restlessness, almost allowing him to relax enough to sleep. But even being exhausted did not allow for immediate escape into slumber. When Gibbs had arrived back in his room an hour ago, the teams had their coats on but were not even close to leaving. They'd been waiting for Gibbs to arrive. Like some secret code, they left when he was settled in the chair with his coffee and not a moment before.

The moment he'd walked in, Gibbs' eyes had gone to McGee, looking him over, and making sure he was still doing okay. As their eyes had met, a spark ignited in the young man's eyes, only to be quickly replaced with a guarded reserve. Gibbs finally understood what was going on. Tim was happy and even relieved that he'd come back to check on him, but was still uncomfortable around him. His agent was clinging to the belief that Gibbs was under duress in all of this. Not happy with any of it and feeling obligated in all of it. Unbeknown to Tim, Gibbs had arrived an hour before he showed up in Tim's room. He and Ducky had gone to the cafeteria and had a very long talk. As he'd listened to everything Ducky had to say, the light had gone on and he finally understood where Tim was coming from. He swore to himself and to Ducky that he would do his best to do what he could to help Tim through this and work with him to make things better between them.

Gibbs had even pulled Abby aside as she was leaving. The poor girl was still unhappy, as she and Tim's relationship was a bit strained at the moment. But, Gibbs had faith that they would work it out. Tim always forgave everything Abby did and Abby usually got the message before it was over. He'd told her that his punishment was being rescinded. He'd even apologized for blowing it out of proportion but asked that she not put any one in that position again. She'd smiled at him, kissed his cheek, and thanked him. Since she still had a lot on her mind, they'd left it at that.

After everyone else had gone, Tim had slid down in his bed and attempted to let sleep find him. Now, an hour later and he was even more tense and stressed than he had been an hour ago. This had to stop. Gibbs felt just as frustrated as Tim looked.

"Tim."

Tim rolled over and sat up, his eyes locking on to those of his boss. This time, he was desperate to not allow his nerves to overrule his manners. "Boss?"

"I've talked to Ducky. I get where you're coming from. We can talk about it after you get outta here, all right?"

Relief flooded Tim's eyes as he silently nodded in both agreement and appreciation.

"Okay. Now go to sleep, stop fighting it." Gibbs ordered quietly.

"Yes, Boss." Tim said with a smile as he once again, made himself comfortable and this time allowed himself to relax. It wasn't long before he was lost to the land of slumber. As his breathing evened out and it became obvious he was indeed finally asleep, Gibbs smiled and actually relaxed. When his cell phone buzzed with a call, Gibbs used the room phone to return the call.

"What is it Abby?" Gibbs asked her quietly

"You never told me what 5 songs you listen to, Gibbs!" the Goth exclaimed.

"Abby! Quiet down, Tim's sleeping!" Gibbs growled

"Gibbs! I really need to know. Besides, you promised!" she responded, although she did manage to tone it down a few notches

Without raising his voice, Gibbs answered her:

"I'll tell you tomorrow."


End file.
